Mobile

Nokia’s 41-Megapixel Camera Phone Will Set You Back $700

Nokia said on Monday that its 41-megapixel 808 PureView camera phone will cost $700 when it goes on sale to U.S. customers in unlocked form. Presales will begin on Amazon later this week.

The move was expected after a tease from Nokia last week that something big was planned for Monday. That started a brief frenzy that Nokia was teaming up with Microsoft on the tablet. However, we poured cold water all over that, citing sources as telling AllThingsDthe news would be the U.S. availability for the 808 PureView.

In addition to its huge camera, the phone also packs “rich recording” capabilities that are designed to give you by far the best concert bootleg of any smartphone.

The Finnish phone maker has essentially stopped selling Symbian-based phones in the U.S. but had said it would look for a way to offer the 808 given interest in its unique picture-taking abilities.

AllThingsD got the inside story on the PureView during a visit to Finland in February, just ahead of the device’s introduction at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress.

For those who want a subsidized device or to see the PureView camera paired with a different OS, Nokia has said the technology behind the 808 PureView will at some point find its way into Windows Phones.